By Richard Greene | Published Sunday, November 1, 2009
After suffering a separated shoulder against Wichita Falls Hirschi, Decatur's Tyler Hodges was forced to watch his team from the sidelines for a game and a half.
The junior made up for lost time Friday night against the Vernon Lions. Hodges ran for a score and caught one while tallying 279 all-purpose yards for Decatur (2-6, 2-2) in a 31-24 victory over Vernon at Lion Stadium.
"[Hodges] did a great job," said Decatur coach Kyle Story. "We didn't know if he was going to be able to play after he injured his shoulder against Hirschi. He was able to practice this week and able to go. He's a great kid."
The victory keeps Decatur's slim playoff hopes alive. Decatur will need a win over Bridgeport and a loss by Iowa Park next week to get into the postseason.
"The overtime loss to Iowa Park is huge now," Story said. "If we win that one, we're in the playoffs; but we didn't."
Decatur trailed 21-14 at halftime Friday. That deficit was on the verge of swelling as Vernon took the second half kickoff and marched to the Decatur 18 yard-line. The Decatur defense, which gave up 301 yards in the game, then made a fourth-down stop.
That's when the Decatur coaches turned the game over to Hodges to operate out of the spread at quarterback. Hodges led Decatur on an eight-play, 83-yard drive to tie the game at 21. Hodges, who carried the ball six times on the drive, punched the ball in from the 1.
Hodges ran for 148 yards on 16 carries in the second half. He also caught two passes for 67 yards and threw for 39 yards.
"The line really stepped up big time tonight," Hodges said. "The game was on the line and I was just running."
Story added about Hodges: "We put him in for a few plays in the first half and things started happening; so we put him in the second half."
The Decatur defense fed off the momentum generated by the offense. Clint Taylor picked off a pass at the Vernon 37-yard line on the second play of the Lions' next possession. Taylor's interception set up a 22-yard Taylor Spence field goal that gave Decatur a 24-21 lead.
"Taylor made a great interception to give us good field position," Story said. "It's funny how the whole team feeds off each other. The defense came up with some huge stops in the second half."
The Decatur defense, which gave up 206 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, allowed just a field goal in the second half. The Vernon field goal by Jonathan Neuberger tied the game at 24 with 10:11 left.
Hodges and the Decatur offense responded on their next drive. But to get the go-ahead score, Decatur needed to convert a fourth-and-15. Hodges fought through an apparent sack and then hit an open Brandon Jones for a 21-yard gain to the Vernon 2-yard line. Colby Moore scored his second touchdown of the night on the next play to seal the victory.
Decatur had trouble containing Vernon's talented young running game in the first half. Freshman Devin Butler ran for 85 of his 132 yards and a pair of scores in the first half. Juniors Miguel Romero and Elton Watson combined for 109 on just three carries in the opening 24 minutes.
Two plays after Decatur grabbed a 14-7 lead on a 28-yard pass from Colton Parker to Hodges, Watson broke free for a 58-yard run to get Vernon in position for the tying touchdown. Butler scored his second touchdown of the half from 2 yards out to tie the game at 14.
It was Romero breaking free on a 43-yard run on Vernon's next series to give the Lions a 21-14 halftime lead.
The Decatur offense got into Vernon territory in the final two minutes of the first half on a 39-yard pass from Parker to Hodges. But a fumble ended the drive at the Vernon 36.
